Lufthansa Considers GE Engine Switch On Future Boeing 787 Dreamliners

Lufthansa has reportedly expressed concerns about the reliability and durability of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine, which will power at least 27 of its upcoming Boeing 787 aircraft, with the airline considering a switch to the GE Aerospace GEnx.

Looking for an engine switch

According to a report by AviationWeek, Lufthansa has been concerned about the Trent 1000, with the airline considering a potential switch to the GEnx engine to power its future 787s. Simple Flying has approached Lufthansa for comment.

The German airline would not be a newcomer to the engine type since ch-aviation data showed that Lufthansa has five 787-9 aircraft in its fleet, while another Lufthansa Group carrier, Austrian Airlines, has two. According to the site, all seven aircraft have a pair of GEnx engines on their wings.

Ch-aviation also showed that the quintet would be redelivered to Austrian Airlines, whose two 787s had been acquired on the second-hand market since they were previously operated by Bamboo Airways.

However, Boeing’s orders and deliveries data showed that out of the 34 of Lufthansa’s unfilled 787 orders, 27 should arrive equipped with the Trent 1000. The remaining seven do not have a specific engine type attached to them, with Lufthansa having ordered the septet and signed up for 13 more options in March 2023.

According to Lufthansa’s 2023 annual report, the group was supposed to take delivery of the 34 787s between 2024 and 2028.

When the first Austrian Airlines 787-9 entered service in June, the Austrian carrier said that ten additional aircraft of the type would replace its existing 767-300ER and 777-200ERs.

Lufthansa’s 787 deliveries

Ch-aviation estimated that Lufthansa should take delivery of five 787-9 aircraft in 2024, with two coming in November. The latter pair is registered as D-ABPF and D-ABPJ, with line numbers (LN) 1170 and 1182, respectively. Both aircraft will be powered by the Trent 1000.

Ch-aviation data showed that four other 787s with Trent 1000 engines should be delivered to the German airline before the end of the year. All four had their first flights in 2020.

Two more 787s, LN 1175 and LN 1188, should be delivered in January 2025 and February 2025, respectively. The pair had their first flights in August (LN 1175) and October (LN 1188), with both aircraft being equipped with the Trent 1000.

While Boeing’s machinist strike, which ended on November 4, did not impact delivery work at the non-unionized 787 assembly site in North Charleston, South Carolina, the aircraft manufacturer still has some 787s in inventory.

Brian West, the chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president of finance of Boeing, detailed during the company’s Q3 earnings call on October 23 that as of September 30, the manufacturer still had 30 787s in inventory, down five quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

All 30 were built before 2023 but required rework before they could be delivered to customers.

“Our ability to finish the rework and shut down the shadow factory has also been impacted by the work stoppage and will now extend into next year.”

Trent 1000 struggles

While the Trent 1000 had severe durability issues during the late 2010s, which culminated during the pandemic, the downturn in international air travel allowed Rolls-Royce to implement engine fixes and reduce the number of aircraft on ground (AOG) to zero.

However, recently, airlines have been forced to adjust their long-haul networks in light of supply issues related to the engines, with British Airways canceling certain routes and abandoning plans of starting others, such as the third-daily flight from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL).

“We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly in relation to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft.”

Ch-aviation data showed that 50 787s are stored, 35 of which are powered by the Trent 1000 engine. Meanwhile, data from the aviation analytics company Cirium indicated that during the three summer months of 2024, there were an average of 15,328 weekly flights per month with the type.

In June, July, and August 2025, airlines have scheduled an average of 15,583 weekly departures per month with the 787, representing growth of 1.6% year-on-year (YoY).

According to the manufacturer’s filings, Boeing has delivered eight 787s since August 2024, five of which were powered by the Trent 1000.